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Take Action for Climate Justice: Mobilize November 30, 2009

November 13, 2009

As the worlds biggest companies and their friends in government continue to fight a transition to more just and sustainable ways of living, climate change threatens to turn our world upside down with water shortages, crop failures, sea level rise and ecosystem collapse. A million species face extinction by the end of the century, and the people who have contributed least to the problem will continue to be the hardest hit. What can be done at this critical juncture, with our future at stake?

Throughout history, social change has come about when regular people get fed up with business as usual, get organized, and take to the streets. If we leave climate solutions up to politicians and corporations, then we will lose  not just a political battle, but the life-support systems of the planet. Time is running out to avert the worst impacts of climate change: the time to act is now.

A broad coalition of organizations working for social, ecological, racial and economic justice has come together under the banner of the Mobilization for Climate Justice. Join us as we organize mass action on climate change on November 30, 2009! November 30 (N30) is significant both because it immediately precedes the upcoming UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen and is the ten-year anniversary of the protests that shut down of the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle, demonstrating the incredible power of collective action.

Every indication is that any agreement that emerges from Copenhagen will be nothing more than business as usualsacrificing real emissions reductions in favor of market-based approaches that enhance corporate profits while delaying a transition away from fossil fuels. The current approach to climate change in the UN, and in the US Congress, is based on the creation of a new market in carbon emissions. Carbon trading (aka cap and trade) and carbon offsets do not address the root causes of global warming, nor do they reduce emissions. They are designed by and for corporations, and are a dangerous distraction that should be abandoned.

We urgently need to implement real solutions like ending excessive consumption, keeping fossil fuels in the ground, re-localizing production and consumption, and drastically reducing greenhouse emissions. We must also protect the rights of workers, displaced peoples, and others affected by the transition.

In recent months, people of the world have taken valiant action for climate solutions. On Oct. 24th, people in 181 countries staged over 5,200 actions calling for global action on climate change. And on November 4, African delegates walked out of pre-Copenhagen negotiations in Barcelona  demanding that rich countries commit to deeper and faster emissions cuts  while European activists used civil disobedience to disrupt the talks.

And now, were asking you to join us in taking the next step  a global day of action for climate justice on Monday, November 30, 2009. Take the day off, get together with friends, and take a stand for real, just and effective solutions to the climate crisis!

WHAT YOU CAN DO ON N30:

Several actions are already being planned for November 30  and many more will be coming soon  so if theres an action happening in your city or region, we urge you to join it! See the MCJ site for a map of N30 actions across the country and across the world.

If there isnt an action being organized in your town, organize one! If youre already involved in a campaign against a company thats contributing to climate injustice, organize an action on against them November 30. You can submit actions by clicking HERE.

If youre organizing an action from scratch, wed suggest you go after one of the following companies: Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Chevron, BP, or American Electric Power. We picked these six companies because theyre all, through their investments, lobbying, and day to day business, going out of their way to obstruct real solutions to the climate crisis. For more info about them, see our Corporate Criminals page.

Corporations like these will keep trying to distract us with false solutions, but we will send them a loud, clear message: Our climate is not your business!

Help us spread the word  well see you in the streets!

If you cant make it out, please consider helping others take action by making a donation.